John Rotach just signed on to the Team Strong Heart Forever mission and compete in the 2008 Race Across America! Welcome aboard John! John and Holly were HUGE supporters of Team Strong Heart's 2007 4 person RAAM team as well.
Here's a bit more about John:
John Rotach
31 yrs old
Holly – wife of 8 years
Lilly – daughter 3yrs
Boo – golden retriever
Anoka, MN for 4 years
Firmware Engineer with Medtronic Inc, Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management
B.S. Computer Engineering – Iowa State University
M.S. Software Engineering – University of St. Thomas
I enjoy:
- bike commuting 8 months of the year (30 miles/day – rain, wind, whatever)
- biking with my wife and daughter (trailer and now trail-a-bike)
- group rides
- racing (road/cyclocross/mountain/triathlon/running)
- playing on the river (boating, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, fishing)
- cross-country and downhill skiing
- anything outdoors (camping, hiking, dog park)
Why RAAM?
My wife told me to. Seriously. A friend told me, “If your wife says, ‘Do it,’ well, then you do it!” I wanted to find a challenging event for next summer. 24 hr mountain bike solo, Leadville 100, Ironman Triathlon, etc… And then this opportunity came along. It’ll be a great adventure with some great people.
Goals for RAAM?
First to finish - healthy and safe. This is such an unknown you HAVE to say your first attempt is to just finish. I’ve ridden at night enough to know weird stuff just happens. After that, I’d like to finish strong. If I’m riding well and am happy in the final days it’ll be a success. I think a team goal is to have the team happy with their performances, feeling like they gave what they had.
Why Camp Odayin?
I first heard about this camp a couple years ago during a presentation at work. Medtronic has a strong tie to this camp as a lot of the kids have our devices. It really struck me as a magical place. During the presentation I had one of those moments where you really step back and remember how lucky and fortunate you are. To never have gone to a summer camp because you or your parents were afraid you’d have a problem and be miles from a hospital. This camp allows these kids to forget they’re different and just be kids. Doing RAAM…spending that kind of money, that much time, crew, volunteers, organization, resources…just to ride a bike. It can seem a little silly. If what we’re doing can help Camp Odayin with their mission, help just a couple kids, it’ll be worthwhile.
31 yrs old
Holly – wife of 8 years
Lilly – daughter 3yrs
Boo – golden retriever
Anoka, MN for 4 years
Firmware Engineer with Medtronic Inc, Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management
B.S. Computer Engineering – Iowa State University
M.S. Software Engineering – University of St. Thomas
I enjoy:
- bike commuting 8 months of the year (30 miles/day – rain, wind, whatever)
- biking with my wife and daughter (trailer and now trail-a-bike)
- group rides
- racing (road/cyclocross/mountain/triathlon/running)
- playing on the river (boating, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, fishing)
- cross-country and downhill skiing
- anything outdoors (camping, hiking, dog park)
Why RAAM?
My wife told me to. Seriously. A friend told me, “If your wife says, ‘Do it,’ well, then you do it!” I wanted to find a challenging event for next summer. 24 hr mountain bike solo, Leadville 100, Ironman Triathlon, etc… And then this opportunity came along. It’ll be a great adventure with some great people.
Goals for RAAM?
First to finish - healthy and safe. This is such an unknown you HAVE to say your first attempt is to just finish. I’ve ridden at night enough to know weird stuff just happens. After that, I’d like to finish strong. If I’m riding well and am happy in the final days it’ll be a success. I think a team goal is to have the team happy with their performances, feeling like they gave what they had.
Why Camp Odayin?
I first heard about this camp a couple years ago during a presentation at work. Medtronic has a strong tie to this camp as a lot of the kids have our devices. It really struck me as a magical place. During the presentation I had one of those moments where you really step back and remember how lucky and fortunate you are. To never have gone to a summer camp because you or your parents were afraid you’d have a problem and be miles from a hospital. This camp allows these kids to forget they’re different and just be kids. Doing RAAM…spending that kind of money, that much time, crew, volunteers, organization, resources…just to ride a bike. It can seem a little silly. If what we’re doing can help Camp Odayin with their mission, help just a couple kids, it’ll be worthwhile.
Check out John's training journal by clicking on: http://www.johnrotachtsh.blogspot.com/ or from the sidebar.
1 comment:
great, now your going to get even faster...at least you gave us some warning here. our prayers are with you and the team - what an adventure!!!!!!!
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